Sharh Nawaqid al-Islam - al-Barrak
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- Mu'assasat Waqf al-Shaykh Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Barrak
Sharh Nawaqid al-Islam (Explanation of the Nullifiers of Islam) is a theological commentary by Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Barrak on the concise treatise Nawaqid al-Islam by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH / 1792 CE), which delineates the primary acts and beliefs that invalidate a person's faith.
Origin and Editorial Method
The text originated as a series of instructional lectures delivered by al-Barrak at the al-Khulayfi Mosque in Riyadh. The transcript was compiled and prepared for publication by Abd al-Rahman ibn Salih al-Sudays. The editorial methodology involved:
- Reviewing and formatting the transcribed spoken lessons for print.
- Referencing Quranic verses to their surahs and providing concise takhrij for hadiths, drawing primarily from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim or the remaining six canonical collections along with brief assessments of authenticity.
- Collating the base text against the edition published by Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University.
- Reading the compiled commentary back to al-Barrak for authorial corrections, additions, and revisions.
Contents and Theological Scope
The commentary explains the ten major nullifiers of Islam (nawaqid) outlined in Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's treatise, framing them within the classical jurisprudential chapter on the ruling of the apostate (hukm al-murtadd). Al-Barrak notes an analogy between the title and the nullifiers of ablution (nawaqid al-wudu'); just as physical impurities nullify ritual purity, the causes of apostasy nullify the fundamental spiritual covenant contracted between the servant and God through the two testimonies of faith (al-Shahadatayn).
The work examines each of the ten nullifiers in detail with their scriptural proofs:
- Associating partners with God in worship (shirk), including sacrificial slaughter for jinn or tombs.
- Setting up intermediaries between oneself and God to supplicate, seek intercession from, and rely upon.
- Refraining from declaring polytheists to be disbelievers, doubting their disbelief, or validating their creeds.
- Believing that guidance other than that of the Prophet ﷺ is more complete, or that alternative rulings are superior to his.
- Hating any aspect of what the Prophet ﷺ brought, even while practicing it.
- Mocking any part of the religion, its rewards, or its punishments.
- Engaging in or approving of sorcery (sihr), including spells of affection and alienation.
- Supporting and aiding polytheists against Muslims.
- Believing that certain individuals are permitted to operate outside the Sharia of Muhammad ﷺ.
- Total turning away (al-i'rad) from God's religion by neither learning it nor acting upon it.
Publication History
The commentary was initially published by Dar al-Tadmuriyyah. In 1431 AH (2010 CE), it was included in a single volume alongside al-Barrak's commentaries on three other foundational treatises by Ibn Abd al-Wahhab: al-Qawa'id al-Arba', al-Usul al-Thalathah, and Kashf al-Shubuhat. It was later reprinted in multiple editions, reaching its ninth edition in 1443 AH (2021/2022 CE) under the auspices of the Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak Endowment Foundation (Mu'assasat Waqf al-Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak).
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